Passage

Ecclesiastes 3.16

Book: Ecclesiastes · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV

14. I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it; and God hath done it, that men should fear before him. 15. That which is hath been long ago; and that which is to be hath long ago been: and God seeketh again that which is passed away.

16. And moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there.

I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. 18. I said in my heart, It is because of the sons of men, that God may prove them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts. (Ecclesiastes 3:14-18, ASV)

WEB

14. I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; and God has done it, that men should fear before him. 15. That which is has been long ago, and that which is to be has been long ago: and God seeks again that which is passed away.

16. Moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there; and in the place of righteousness, that wickedness was there.

I said in my heart, “God will judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.” 18. I said in my heart, “As for the sons of men, God tests them, so that they may see that they themselves are like animals. (Ecclesiastes 3:14-18, WEB)

KJV

14. I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. 15. That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past. ^{that which is past: Heb. that which is driven away}

16. And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.

I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. 18. I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. ^{that God: or, that they might clear God, and see, etc} (Ecclesiastes 3:14-18, KJV)

YLT

14. I have known that all that God doth is to the age, to it nothing is to be added, and from it nothing is to be withdrawn; and God hath wrought that they do fear before Him. 15. What is that which hath been? already it is, and that which [is] to be hath already been, and God requireth that which is pursued.

16. And again, I have seen under the sun the place of judgment, there [is] the wicked; and the place of righteousness, there [is] the wicked.

I said in my heart, 'The righteous and the wicked doth God judge, for a time [is] to every matter and for every work there.' 18. I said in my heart concerning the matter of the sons of man that God might cleanse them, so as to see that they themselves [are] beasts. (Ecclesiastes 3:14-18, YLT)

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Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word.

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Notes

Your annotations.

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.